TrumpOphobia Syndrome

I'm sure some psychiatrist has already identified and named the trauma syndrome that mysteriously appeared in our culture last Inauguration Day.  I know I have it, with media fatigue and a general hopeless malaise sitting on my shoulders like Poe's raven. 

Unless one is a Republican (for whom things are going merrily along), there are suddenly SO MANY issues to care about -- and so few ways to actually change anything, given the GOP majorities in the House and Senate and the giant, unrestricted funding behind them.

How is it that we have suddenly become embroiled in so many real conflicts in just 11 short months?

I wasn't politically oblivious during Obama's administration, and I don't think he did everything perfectly given his inexperience and his obstructionist Congress, but I don't recall waking up at night in a cold sweat worrying about:

• DACA - and the 800,000 immigrants who were brought here as children and now possibly being deported to a completely unfamiliar country/
• ACA - and all those millions of people who will be left with either NO insurance or prohibitively expensive insurance, especially those who have a hard time with finances now. 
• EPA - currently run by a man who hates the very existence of his own agency and who is sabotaging its purpose and goals -- to the detriment of us all. 
• Climate Change - Not a priority for this president, and not even believed to be true by officials with budgetary power. 
• "Review" of national monuments, which will result in downsizing and being opened up for industrial exploitation. 
• CHIP - medical care program for children which has expired and has not yet been re-authorized. 
• ANWAR - drilling in the Arctic wildlife preserve for oil, when the market is already glutted.  Threats have also been made for offshore drilling in California. 
• Tax Reform - Bad enough for the average American in its current unfinished form but with potential devastation to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security as "entitlements" will be targeted to pay for the corporate and one-percenters' tax breaks. 
• Every single political move made with an eye toward profit/gain instead of toward the welfare of the American people. 
• Gun control -- where is it, Republican Congress?  Five years after Newtown, concealed carry laws are about to be liberalized?  Really?
• Packing the courts with unqualified federal judges, some of whom have records of racist and homophobic remarks. 
• Racism and xenophobia at the highest levels, making their noxious ways into policies (Muslim travel ban, immigration policies, the stupid Mexican Wall). 
• Misplaced, unwarranted and dangerous pandering to evangelical "Christians," resulting in limitations to health care access, particularly for women, and imposition of religious values not shared by millions of Americans. 
• Actual nuclear WAR with North Korea, and God knows what violence now in Israel/Palestine. 
• Enduring complete humiliation by having an ill-informed, lying, racist president, completely without honor and integrity, who has supported an alleged pedophile for senator, who himself is accused by multiple women of sexual harassment and assault, who has called racists and Nazis "good people," who has likely colluded with Russia, and who has alienated most major countries by his despicable actions and speech.  I hate that this despicable man makes me hate. 
• ...and so much more.  

I wouldn't feel so hopeless and frustrated if I believed in an avenue to STOP this horrible direction.  We're told to look to 2018 mid-term elections and the 2020 presidential election -- but I haven't seen much evidence of dynamic, engaged leadership yet -- have you?  I do think people (libtards, like me) are rallying and coming together -- but an angry crowd is just a mob without effective leadership, enough money to make a difference, and political savvy to make a change.  Are there Democratic versions of the Koch Brothers...and all the rest of that cabal...who so effectively manipulate elections (e.g., Roy Moore)? 

Is this what happened in Germany in the 1930's?  I've always resented the ordinary German people who allowed and even championed Hitler's rise to power, and I personally remember the aftermath of his genocidal actions, but is this how it started?  I'm feeling a bit more sympathetic toward those German common folk these days as I just don't see how we are going to turn this around.  

Things are being done that will have lasting effects -- and not for the good of most of us.   

Things are being done in our name that a majority of us find anathema.  

Very bad things are being done by this Republican machine -- how the hell do we stop it?  

Whatever it's really named, I definitely have TumpOphobia Syndrome, and so far nothing seems to soothe.  

The Noses Grow Longer and Longer

When was the last time you believed, without reservation or nagging doubt, one word that you heard from anyone in political office?  Is "oh, bullpoop" your immediate reaction?  Can you honestly say that you take at face value the televised statements from congressional and presidential spokespersons and the principals themselves? 

Exactly how stupid do those twisted souls in Washington and (insert the name of your state) think Americans are?

Or, even more frightening, how stupid are we to believe the downright lies we are fed day after day after day?

I choked on my tea last week as I briefly scanned the evening news.  Mr. Obamarama, having been soundly trounced in his efforts to ram down our throats his unwanted, bloated, outrageously spendy health care reform, suddenly changed his tune and addressed "jobs" for the jobless, amid new and depressing unemployment rates -- while at the same time spanking Wall Street for their continuing evil practices and outrageous compensation packages.  (Obama giveth and now Obama will taketh away, apparently.)

Obviously, some of his czars have decided (since the media has told them so) that the American public is most concerned about the economy, and that's what The Boss should be talking about.  He's also rehired his campaign manager, David Plouffe, as head cheerleader and chief manipulator of the Obamarama presidency. 

So, here we go again.  For weeks, months, and probably years, we'll be treated to Obama The Candidate -- which is the only successful thing he's done in his remarkably less-than-illustrious political career.  Like the Pinocchio he is (who, remember, was a wooden puppet long before he became a Real Boy), he will mouth pretty lies, repeating all the hopey and changey platitudes that got him elected in the first place, telling us over and over and over and over and over (etc.) what he and his "message crafters" think we want to hear. 

Raise your hand if you think this conversation takes place daily in the West Wing:  "For God's sake, don't forget that Americans are completely stupid.  Don't tell them the truth about anything, especially if it makes us look bad.  They don't have a clue about the country's real problems, but don't let them know we don't have a clue about any reasonable, practical options for solving them.  In fact, don't do anything, period -- but by all means make it look like and sound like we have all the answers.  Tell them anything -- they're dumb enough to buy it all.  Above all, don't do any real governing -- just splash about in the kiddie pool and play to the polls. Blah, lie, blah, lie, blah, lie, blah, lie, blah, lie, blah, lie and blah."


Probably, because this strategy worked so well in his last campaign, a portion of the wide-eyed, idealistic voters will swoon again and swallow his swill, Obama's polling numbers will bump up and President O will claim public support and a rousing success. 

Think back over the past few years of reprehensible political and personal scandals (both Republicans' and Democrats') that were perpetrated, denied, denied, denied, admitted to, apologized for and then forgotten. 

Think of the promises made by congressional leaders -- who then backtracked each one in the name of expediency.

Think of the promises made in the 2008 election that have not been kept (transparency of process, for one).

If you dare, take a look at the concerns the conservative media had regarding Obama's qualifications, experience and questionable supporters, then take a look at the lies we were told about each of those.

Lying is certainly not limited to those who work in Washington -- or in State capitols -- but the bullshit detectors certainly seem to work overtime in D.C.  I'm not by nature a cynical person, but following politics (even as casually and superficially as I do) can certainly turn an idealist into a prickly cynic in a very short time.

So, talk on, President O -- tell us what you think we want to hear -- give us another piece of pie in the sky -- move your lips to the puppeteers' dancing fingers.  It's the only thing you're really good at -- but be careful, those are your pants on fire. 
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Trying Not To Empty My Half-Full Cup

I've never known an Aries person who is negative by nature (and I've known more than my share of Aries -- including the one I see in the mirror).  We're considered the infants of all astrological signs -- self-involved, as children are -- but also idealistic and hopeful.  Even when the bluebird of happiness potties on our parade, we, like Scarlett, simply look toward tomorrow and know it will be better...and it almost always is.

I have to admit that this past year has been a trying one for my sunny outlook, and I don't see much on the horizon of 2010 that will keep a smile on my face, unless I turn up my mouth with my fingers.

Oh, I'm not talking about my personal life -- I live probably the most stress-free and comfy existence in the U.S.  But whenever I consider the national and international political landscapes, I can't help but feel a cloud of negativity descend.

I've lived through the "duck and cover" years of the cold war, the fear of imminent annihilation during the Cuban missile crisis, all the skirmishes, police actions, wars and assassinations since the 50's, the attacks of September 11th, and every other danger the 20th and 21st centuries have brought us.  I've never felt as uncertain about our government as I do now, nor as nervous about the competency of any President as Obama -- along with his circus troop of czars and czarinas..

Anyone who has followed this little blog knows my position on the 2008 primaries, campaign and ultimate election of hopey and changey.  The voting public was so completely hypnotized  by polished prose and  improbable promises, not to mention the completely blind and biased media, that critical thinking and cold reason lost the battle at the polls -- and, as it turns out, we will probably all be losers in the end.

I could go on and on in this vein, but I don't want to depress myself or you on the first day of a new year.  Instead, I'm giving you a couple of links to recent articles that will do that job very nicely... take a few minutes and read them, if you're so inclined --   THIS ONE  and THIS ONE.

If you like what they had to say, don't forget about THIS SITE for access to intelligent views contrary to what you see and read from the mainstream liberal media. 

If Gallup or NBC/WSJ pollsters called to ask my opinion on this administration's effectiveness to date, and my confidence in Obama's presidency overall, I'm afraid I wouldn't give Obamarama the B+ grade he recently awarded himself.  I'm pretty sure his grade would look a lot like my math grades in school -- pretty damn miserable.

On that note, let me wish you a Happy New Year -- that's "happy" as in let's pretend the coming year will see some gains in the economy for which taxpayers aren't footing the bill,  let's pretend Congress will do as the majority of their constituents want, not as the dictator in the White House demands, and let's pretend all of 2010 tomorrows will be better days.  I will if you will.
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How Succinct Can You Get?

Borrowed from
"CharlieFoxtrotBlog.blogspot.com"
via AceOfSpadesHQ
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Isn't It Refreshing?

I love that the collective mainstream media has taken off at least one pair of rose-colored glasses with regard to President Obama. While they haven't yet choked on any humble pie, and probably never will because that would mean they'd have to admit to their bias and cheerleading of the past couple of years, they can no longer ignore the poll numbers that show Obama at less than deity status.

Here's what The Huffington Post had to say on July 9th:

President Barack Obama's approval rating in Ohio has fallen rapidly in the past months.

Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,259 voters in Ohio from June 26 to July 7. The poll found that 49% of voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing, while 44% approve.

That is 13 points down from May, when a separate Quinnipiac poll found a 62% approval rating and a 31% disapproval rating.

The most recent Quinnipiac poll also surveyed voters on Obama's handling of the economy, finding 48% disapproval and 46% approval. In May, Obama received a 57% approval rating on the economy.

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, attributed the new poll numbers to the economic climate.

"The economy in Ohio is as bad as anywhere in America," said Brown. "These numbers indicate that for the first time voters have decided that President Barack Obama bears some responsibility for their problems."

Until now, he said, voters largely been "blaming former President George W. Bush." But now, voters "might be taking out their frustration on President Obama, possibly deciding that the change he promised has not come as quickly as they expected."

Gosh, the President the media elected isn't doing so well. What a surprise. I'm flabbergasted to think that the community organizer with 30 seconds' experience in the Senate can't solve America's and the world's problems in the first six months.

I can understand die-hard liberals voting for any Democrat nominated. I can understand the uneducated and unwashed voting for a rock star celebrity with a nice turn of words and a great smile. But what the hell was everyone else thinking?

Obviously, they weren't thinking.

I lay the responsibility and blame for his election squarely at the media's duck feet. They laughed off or ignored every serious red flag that anyone not pro-Obama raised. Everyone lazy or gullible enough to take the mainstream news anchors and analysts at face value, without checking F-A-C-T-S for themselves, or at least reading opposition challenges, voted as the sheep they are -- and we're now living with the result.

I know, I know, it's too late -- President he is and President he will remain, at least for his first term. One can only speculate the damage he will do IN that first term, but I fear the speculation may not be as bad as the eventual reality.

As a liberal arts major in college I wasn't exposed to any high-level economics classes -- not that I could have understood them had I taken them. Whatever minor gifts I have lie in language, and my mantra from childhood has been, "die, numbers, die!" Still, I was an IT executive for years with budgetary responsibilities (how the gods laughed) and I have run a home business and household on my own for 15 years, so I have at least an inkling of the practical side of money matters.

It just seems to me fiscally irresponsible (translation: stupid) to propose a multi-trillion-dollar revision of our health care system while the country is suffering the deepest recession in 70 years. What kind of fiscally irresponsible (stupid) family would book a vacation cruise around the world when the house, the car, the dog and one kid had been repoed? What kind of -- you know, stupid -- corporation would buy all new computers, company jets, facilities, staplers and paperclips if the bottom line on the balance sheet were too red to be read?

It really makes me nuts to see Obama and his thugish administration tap, tap, tapping like manic Irish dancers trying to spend money THEY DON'T HAVE. Who does that? Who proposes increased taxes on small business -- which provides the majority of jobs in a country at 10% unemployment? Someone without any common sense and any sensibility for people who struggle every day with the reality HE isn't living.

Even if you've managed to keep your customers, if you're a small business, or keep your job, if you're employed, your investments in your home and retirement have lost at least half their value over the past few years, and your personal financial future doesn't look nearly as bright as it did when you made all those cozy retirement plans.

All Obama's fault? Of course not. But having been elected based on hopey and changey, he's not coming through very well, is he? Hope may have won, but hope is going to cost a lot of bucks that we don't have, particularly when hope's health care program is so far out of the realm of practicality.

We may just have to bet on the outside chance that Congress wises up and just says NO. (pardon my snort laugh.)

So far I haven't seen the media sharks doing more than nosing the chum(p) in the water. I'm sure it's way too much to ask that they view empty words, ridiculously expensive proposals and general ineptitude with the jaundiced eye Sarah Palin got at every turn.

Silly me -- an articulate President so completely over his head in wide-eyed leftie idealism doesn't begin to compare with the gravity of a candidate's wardrobe.

The Land Of Ozzzzzzzzzzz

I sleep so much better at night now, knowing that the nation's Chief Executive Officer, with all his many years of executive experience, responsibility and business acumen, is at the helm of our ship of state.

What? He has no business experience? He has no impressive record of achievement and success? He's only had a couple of jobs besides running for office? How could that be?

Well, I sleep better at night knowing that General Motors and Chrysler, two of three companies forming the bedrock of our auto industry, are once again viable since their billion dollar loans. Whew! I'm so glad they escaped bankruptcy, which, we were assured in January, would send Chicken Little into the streets and completely devastate our weakened economy.

What? GM is now facing almost-certain bankruptcy after all? Wasn't keeping it OUT of bankruptcy the rationalization for the original government loans? Now it's the answer? Are you telling me that a constipated, bloated, overfed, overgrown organization like GM couldn't come up with a completely new, innovative and profitable business model in two months? The same company who hasn't come up with anything really new in 20 years? (I've seen a corporation 10,000 times smaller than GM not be able to come up with new letterhead in two months.)

Well, surely I'll sleep better knowing that our weary troops are coming home from Iraq. Thank God we won't be putting lives at risk and spending all those billions every month fighting in that troubled region.

What? We're escalating the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Really? After all that campaign rhetoric? Good grief! And we want to be friends with Iran? How does Israel feel about that?

At least I'll be sleeping better knowing that in this economic climate no reasonable, right-thinking, brilliant economics team would propose massive new government programs to solve every problem that exists in our society. Of course we're going to try to get back on our financial feet before we institute new health care reforms, education programs, paid volunteer programs and pay for all those little piggy earmarks. After all, we need a healthy economy with stable revenues before we wallow in all that pork, don't we? At least the "average American family" won't be facing new taxes. Thank goodness.

You're kidding. All that stuff is actually in the proposed budget -- while the whole world economy flounders like, well, a beached flounder? But only those who make $250,000 and up will be hit with a tax increase? Wait -- doesn't that mean most small business owners, who create 70% of new jobs? By all means, tax the investors, tax the job providers, tax the backbone of the economy.

I'll have to remember to set my alarm as I'll be sleeping so soundly knowing that members of Congress, our elected representatives who speak for us and act for us, will be on the job in Washington. They are all so trustworthy, intelligent, honest, ethical souls, aren't they? Look at how they all reacted to the AIG bonuses. They're my kind of folk.

No! You don't mean they actually took PAC money from the very corporations they loaned taxpayer money to then lambasted for their actions? Those nasty big businesses who honored their employment contracts and paid bonuses? Well, I guess a member of Congress has to be re-elected. We can't fault them. We don't seem to ever get rid of them, either.

Come to think of it, I haven't slept a wink since Election Day, 2008. I wonder why?

I Finally Get It

Because I think this election is SO important, and because I am still on the voting fence, I gagged and tied myself up and forced me to watch most of both conventions.... with a little help from my DVR.

I've written about it so much it's completely redundant to say again, but here it is: I've never voted Republican before and many, although not all, of the planks of the Democratic platform resonate with my own values and those of my family background...

...BUT...

I've also been exposed to first-hand (not massaged by the mainstream media) Republican philosophy for the last few years. This exposure has been through lively discussion with a conservative friend whose intelligence and judgment I profoundly respect, and also by following a few well-researched, respectable and well-written conservative columns and blogs.

It's a fact, folks... all Republicans are not nutjobs, and valid, reasonable conservative viewpoints DO exist. There really are two sides to every issue, and both sides have merit if one is not deeply entrenched in partisan thinking.

I think I'm as objective about the two parties and their issues as anyone can be in this very partisan year. I'm also still very much in the "undecided" column about my November vote.

After all the balloons, confetti, placards, posters, banners, bullshit and empty words have been swept out of Denver & St. Paul, I'm left with a few confessions, impressions and conclusions.

This last Thursday night, at the close of Senator McCain's acceptance speech, was the first time in my memory that I have felt at all patriotic. (I've written about this weird deficit in my character previously, HERE.) I may have felt a twinge of something at JFK's funeral, another twinge at the first moon landing, spasms at the Challenger and WTC disasters... but had I owned a flag, I would have been waving it Thursday night.

With my girlie, estrogen-driven DNA, I have found every war (after WWII) incomprehensible and intrinsically barbaric and primitive, and so I've avoided almost all exposure to the many military actions of my lifetime. I despise the very nature of war and abhor everything connected to it. It therefore has always been a puzzle to me why the status of "military hero" would almost automatically mark a presidential candidate as "desirable"... but Thursday night, I finally got it.

It's not that every "decorated war hero" necessarily has the qualities -- whatever they may be -- to become an effective and powerful President. The heroic acts themselves are not the qualifying factors -- but the character formed and strengthened by the adversity, suffering, sacrifice and dedication to the ideal and reality of serving one's country absolutely is.

It's a truth of life that struggle makes us strong. The happy plateaus of our life are surely more pleasant and do give us breathing space to enjoy a little peace of mind and heart; but, it's from the depths of calamity and tragedy that we grow, that our character develops, that we emerge as a more mature, more complete person. In my opinion, the more we overcome, the stronger we become -- and the converse is true, too, (which worries me about the many ways our culture chooses to be "comfortable" rather than accept hard choices and hard consequences -- but that's another blog.)

Does my Oprah-esque epiphany, my ah ha! moment, mean that I'm voting for McCain and company now? Nope, not necessarily -- but it did give me an insight, at gut level, into the kind of character he possesses and what went into the formation of that character. The contrast with his opponent is obvious and almost painful.

I'm still stuck with the depressing opinion that we have three lightweight candidates and one man who may be too old to be effective. The parties' proposed solutions to our national concerns and issues seem to be more clearly defined this election, though, which may weigh heavier in my own decision than in previous years. Wouldn't it be peachy if the candidates could bring themselves to just tell us the plain, simple, unpackaged truth.... oops, sorry, I slipped into fantasy there for a moment.

Oh, before I leave -- I've been sent three different "letters" about Sarah Palin from three different sources, plus I've seen a couple on a blog or two. In case you're sent one of those from the vast "forward email hell" -- check out this link before you draw any conclusions about their validity: Letters from Alaska.
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The Vajayjay Factor

(If you don't understand the term 'vajayjay', you are not getting your minimum daily requirement of Oprah.)

The talking heads are still talking about Sarah Palin's desirability and potential risk/benefit to the GOP ticket. It obviously took most everyone by surprise, particularly since other, more prominent, names had been chewier media fodder before the long-anticipated announcement.

From the PowerLine blog, here is a comment made just weeks before by McCain regarding his choice and what qualifications he/she might have. Here is another post, also from PowerLine, talking about overestimating "the gender issue" and overlooking Palin's true qualifications.

She's a new face to me, and this post isn't about Palin-the-person's place on the ticket. She may be the greatest thing since smoked Alaska salmon and may even give the Republicans a winner against Hillary in four or eight years, according to AWCF (a wise conservative friend).

What struck me today is the probability that, yeah, she was chosen on the basis of gender and, glass ceiling or not, it pisses me off.

We've all watched The West Wing, so we all know that the candidates don't act alone, particularly in a choice this important and particularly when the opponent is even or a bit ahead in the polls. Smoke-filled room or not, it was a decision made with advice, and it's those conversations that I find irritating and demeaning.

Hillary's 18,000,000 primary votes are not insignificant -- and certainly, many of those were sincere "I Love Hillary" votes. Possibly many were cast for her just because she's a woman. Certainly, many were against the GOP because of Bush's presidency; many were cast by die-hard Democrats whose hand would wither and die should they pull the lever for any but a Democrat; many were pro-Democrat but anti-Obama -- for whatever reason. We'll never know all the reasons, and it's certainly moot at this point.

But, in making the recommendation and decision about Palin's candidacy, also certainly some of the discussion was, "Yeah, wow, 18,000,000 votes for Hillary. We need a woman. We really need a woman. Find us a woman - now."

Why isn't the discussion and decision, "This is the best qualified human. This human has foreign policy, economics, military, political and executive experience -- what a great addition to the ticket."

According to USAtrivia.com, nine times in our history the office of President has been assumed by the VP. It's happened three times since 1945, which makes any VP a heartbeat, a resignation or an impeachment away from the Oval, which makes the VP office itself more than a nice photo op and address. It also makes the selection of the candidate for that office pretty damn critical -- way beyond the vajayjay factor.

If Palin was chosen as McCain's running mate because she has ALL the qualities necessary to become President should there be a fateful event or crisis, and also because she can energize the conservative base and bring some youth and vigor to an old man's campaign, well, great... nice to meet you, Sarah. Good luck, and by the way, nice caboose.

If, however, she made the ticket primarily because of her gender, I see that as an insulting act of condescension toward all women voters. It's every bit as bad (and exactly the same) as Democrat politicos assuming that because a voter is African-American, he/she will be voting for Obama.

I fought the good fight for women's liberation in the 70's (written about here), and if any woman in America is thrilled that "a woman" is on a Presidential ballot, even in the second slot, I would be that woman.... but NOT if she were chosen because of the vajayjay factor.

I was going to post a long harangue about the process by which the VP is selected -- through choice, not through votes, but this post has done it for me.

Maybe it's time to stop voting for "a unit of presidency" and vote for each separately.
Maybe it's time to take out the race/religion/color/penis/vajayjay factors, too.

Every time I consider our four candidates I stick my thumb in my mouth and try to console myself with this thought: Despite Bush and all that he has wrought, maybe, just maybe the person who sits in the comfy chair in the Oval Office doesn't matter all that much. Maybe. Hopefully.
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Hallelujah! The Way To Heaven Is The Ballot Box

The pickets of this political fence I've been sitting on have been getting pointier and pokier day by day. I was so relieved that Joe Biden finally made my choice clear last night at his nomination acceptance speech.

If I vote for Obama, I will get everything I have always dreamed of through the largess of my government and His Goodness, Barack Obama. Without stringing a single light, Santa will be here with his sack on his back -- without coloring an egg, the Easter Bunny's basket is mine -- without parting with another pearly white, the Tooth Fairy will visit my pillow -- and all these amazing gifts will be mine, all mine:

Barack Obama will deliver that change. Barack Obama will reform our tax code. He'll cut taxes for 95 percent of the American people who draw a paycheck. That's the change we need.

Barack Obama will transform our economy by making alternative energy a genuine national priority, creating 5 million new jobs and finally freeing us from the grip of foreign oil. That's the change we need.

Barack Obama knows that any country that out teaches us today will out-compete us tomorrow. He'll invest in the next generation of teachers. He'll make college more affordable. That's the change we need.

Barack Obama will bring down health care costs by $2,500 for the typical family, and, at long last, deliver affordable, accessible health care for all Americans. That's the change we need.

Barack Obama will put more cops on the streets, put the "security" back in Social Security and never give up until we achieve equal pay for women. That's the change we need.

Wow! Where's my absentee ballot? I wanna vote RIGHT NOW for the ticket that can make and fulfill all of those promises.

Oh No! This is reality, not Santa's workshop. Where is the price tag for all that pie in the sky? What is the source of funding for 2009's bag of tricks, especially when "He'll cut taxes for 95 percent of the American people who draw a paycheck." I suppose those evil corporations will just have to pony up more tax dollars...and I know, because The Wizard told me so, that none of that will be passed along to consumers, here in the Land of Oz.

It's a terrible thing to be a wayward political compass whose needle swings to the left with glorious promises and to the right with reality checks and facts. If I'd had a voting machine lever in my hand last night, Bill Clinton would have been re-elected.

And, like the Scarecrow, if I didn't have a brain and a soupcon of common sense, I'd consider voting for Barack Obama, purveyor of the impossible dream.

Yikes...... I think I just made a decision. Alert the press. Film at 11.
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I Don't Get It -- And I Don't Wanna Get It

There are a lot of things I don't understand about Life, even with my advancing age and broad experience, but I gotta tell you, the celebrity mystique is up there at the top of the list. I just don't get it. I mean I REALLY don't get it.

Oh sure, I kept a scrapbook of movie stars when I was 13, and when the subject comes up I'll match my "celebrities I've met" list against anyone's.

• Lassie (the real one - the boy dog);
  
• Patrick Swayze (well, I didn't meet him, but I ate dinner at the next table);
  
• Joan Baez, Kim Novak and Clint Eastwood - no big deal - anyone who has ever lived in Monterey County has met at least one of this triad. I swear I've never asked for an autograph, though -- not even a paw print from Lassie.

I'm sure as this interminable election season moves along we're going to be hearing celebrity endorsements and watching snippets from celebrity fundraisers for the candidates. This is the point where my unbelief slams into American pop culture. Why should their endorsement, or even their opinion, carry any weight whatsoever? What makes their opinion of any candidate more valid than my next door neighbor's? Do they have some kind of political credentials only they and their hairdresser know about?

Nope.

Brief aside: A couple of years ago, Hollywood came to my area and filmed a really bad movie in which one of my sons had a brief part. Knowing that watching the filming of a movie was on my list of "things to do before I die," he invited me to the set. It was both fascinating and the most boring afternoon of my life, but it does give me the authority for the following three paragraphs.

So -- you come to Hollywood with 50,000 other aspiring actors and, through chance or connections or your willingness to be oh so nice to producers and agents -- and maybe even through talent and training -- you get a break in the movie biz.

Your workday goes something like this: A limo picks you up from your residence and drives you to the studio or location, where you sit in "hair and makeup" for a couple of hours. You work with the costumers until you're just as beautiful or handsome as the role requires. You "work" for 2 minutes, then sit on your ass for 2 hours while the director reviews the scene with 10 people and makes minuscule changes... then you "work" for another 2 minutes. You eat a catered lunch. You might "work" for another 30 minutes and then you're driven home, oh so weary, in the same limo. If you don't have a gala to attend, you learn the next day's lines and set your alarm clock for that dreadfully early hour when you get up and do it all over again.

I know, I know, there's research, there's finding the character, there's struggling with the director to breathe life into the character and your performance... still, you have to admit, it isn't genetic engineering, rocket science or pick your metaphor for brainiac. One could to say that the only need your brain fulfills is to keep your shapely skull from deflating.

Oh yeah - the best part -- you also get to cash those lovely, lovely, big fat checks.

Wait - maybe that isn't the best part. Maybe the very, very best part is that you get to live as part of America's uncrowned royalty -- just you and your plastic surgeons, your 8 spouses, 5 kids from 5 different marriages and 2 long-time partners, your addictions and many nights in rehab that you're so proud of, your psychiatrist, arresting officer, attorney, masseuse, astrologer, Learjet pilot, housekeeper and staff, your security personnel, your publicist, business manager, banker and agent... and don't forget the family that done you wrong, so wrong.

OK, maybe that's a little exaggerated...but not by much for the creme de la creme of Hollywood.

To me the life of a celebrity seems like the epitome of sleaze and all that is wrong with our culture -- however, to many it is THE American Dream.

Pardon me for being obtuse, but I still don't see how working in the entertainment field and being a household (slutty) name lends any credibility to your political opinion. What piece of logic am I missing here?

Because your face has been on a movie screen 50 times life-size, and because it's your sad visage I see on the tabloids at the supermarket and your name I hear on network news for yet another scandal -- THAT qualifies you to endorse a candidate and I'm supposed to follow your lead?

Certainly everyone enjoying our American freedoms has the right to express an opinion, stand up for what they believe in, protest whatever evils they see and lobby for change. War records from the Revolution to last month's mid-East tally attest to the worth of those precious rights.

I just don't get why a celebrity's viewpoint is assumed to carry any more weight that the soccer mom down the street, the hot DHL delivery driver, the Starbucks server or any one of the other 301 million Americans.

I certainly don't get why a supposedly serious candidate would even want the endorsement of the King or Queen of Sleaze. Maybe I can understand if they're raising money, because no one has more money than Hollywoodites and there's no tighter clique than entertainers. But really -- I mean REALLY -- you're trying to convince America you have the intelligence, integrity, principles and leadership qualities to become President... and here's Bambi BigBoobs, Daisy Dipshit and Slab Hardbody who will attest to your qualifications -- and you think their endorsements will sway MY vote?

Arrrgh. Like I said a couple of hundred words ago -- I don't get it.

Google, Obama, The Truth and The Media

I'm disappointed, disheartened and downright pissed that the likely names on the November presidential ballot will be McCain and Obama. Out of the circuses that were the Republican and Democrat primaries, these two are the very best our country can come up with?

If my feet were held to the fire, I'd admit to being a very conservative Democrat or a very liberal Republican. I would have been satisfied with an intelligent, youngish though experienced, ethical, truth-telling, visionary candidate of either party, so I'm fairly sure I can write this without bias to either donkey or elephant.

Even though I fit the demographic of the majority of HRC's supporters, my admiration for her waned and wilted as soon as I read her autobiography "Living History". I honestly believed in the "vast right wing conspiracy" that drew so much energy and attention away from the promise of Bill's years in the White House.... until I read the book. There is a vein of dishonesty, deception and evasion that runs through the book, particularly in the chapters having to do with the very investigations that were so relentlessly pursued. I probably couldn't point to specifics, but the book itself left an impression of dishonesty surrounding all things Hillary... however, she got my vote in the California primary, not "for Hillary" but absolutely against Obamarama, and in November, there's going to be at least one write-in vote for Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

I'm not sure how or when it happened, but the O has certainly become the media's darling boy, and, given the power and influence of selective reporting, a coronation looks ever more inevitable. The problem here is not the mindless "Barack-star" adulation that has put him solidly in the nominee's seat. The problem is the lack of scrutiny and investigative reporting that he seems to be enjoying, at least at this stage of the game.

If either McCain or HRClinton had changed positions as lithely and speedily as O has done, we would have had weeks of it in the media. Obama plays the expedience game like a master -- like a master from Chicago, in fact, and he's not held to accountability by his loving and forgiving press. His gaffes, which he usually and immediately blames on his staff, are reported the day they occur and may turn up once or twice more, but they are never treated with the firestorm of blather that have roasted other candidates.

Can you imagine what we would have heard from the media had HRC or McCain removed Muslim women from the diversity photo showcase at more than one of their speeches? Can you hear the outcries if one of their spiritual advisers had crossed the line of reason as did Rev. Wright? How many crosses would they have been nailed to had they changed their positions on special interest and campaign financing, terror surveillance, the handgun ban, the Cuban embargo, decriminalization of marijuana, illegal immigration, troop withdrawal from Iraq, NAFTA... just to name a few. (There are so many links to these flipflops I didn't include them... Google has them for you, if you want to check.)

Even in its minimal reporting of the above switcharoonies, the press universally attributed them as being raised for political agendas by either Hillary or the Republican opposition -- instead of the media itself doing the straight-up reporting we should expect from fair coverage (if such a thing still exists).

In checking for examples of the above, I found a number of articles written by (obviously) his friends in the press who attributed these turnarounds to "something candidates normally do at the beginning of a campaign." Right. I understand. It's peachy if the candidate is the one sailing down the aisle toward coronation -- it's a scandal if any other candidate does it.

I don't like Obama. I haven't liked him from his first explosion onto the media stage, and nothing I've seen since has changed my opinion. Maybe I've watched my DVD collection of The West Wing too often, but I feel the office of the President carries with it a gravitas that is distinctly missing in a slick, wiggly empty suit who has been catapulted to his position ONLY through his articulate speechifying, his behind-the-scenes political ties, and his ability to raise and spend millions of dollars.

He may be uber-intelligent but his life experience hasn't, in my opinion, prepared him for the awesome responsibilities of the Oval Office. Some say that's a good thing. Some say it's the only way to effect real change in Washington. Some may have their heads lodged in a dark and claustrophobic canal, too. His presumptive nomination is, in my mind, the reflection of the worst our American culture... worshiping the young, the attractive, the charismatic celebrity -- the ultimate example of flash without substance. That may be okay for the latest pop tart, but it may have devastating consequences in this case.

I don't trust Obama. I think he'll do anything (ANYTHING) in his quest for the White House, and I think we've seen a bit of that already. Although I usually eschew the underbelly of politics when it comes to disclosing errant prior or current behavior, questionable ties or a penchant for espousing the position-of-the-day, I'm looking forward to what the Republicans come up with as they turn their considerable forces on their party's opponent. It sure as hell isn't going to come from normal press channels since Obamarama is the media's darling. I hope some brave reporter or some well-funded Republicans do the hard work of exposing his Chicago ties and the special interest money he's so adept at acquiring. In fact, I can't wait.

Hi After Hiatus

The last time I wrote here was the day before Leap Day... and today is the day after Summer Solstice. There must be some secret symbolism in this occultish juxtaposition... or maybe I just wanted to type 'juxtaposition'. Anyway -- for what it's worth, I'm back at the blogging keyboard.

I checked in with all blogs in my section "Blogs Necessary To My Day," and while I've had nearly four months of days without them (proving they are hardly "necessary",) they still rang my bell. Dooce has gone big-time with mainstream media coverage of her whacked out life and entertaining writing, and Jill is still pedaling her talented self all over Alaska -- which I envy more than usual since I'm down to about half a knee, myself -- and my other favorites have been just perking along.

I was urged back to my keyboard and blogdom by two compelling prods: 1) I've kept my mouth shut about presidential campaign politics about two weeks longer than I can possibly stand; 2) Martha Beck (she of the motivational books) writes that if there is an activity where you literally lose yourself, lose touch with time and space as you engage in it, then it is connected to your "essential self." Writing for me has always fit that profile, so I'm letting my "essential self" have a little time.

What have I been doing these months, you ask?

Since I've been out of touch here, I've been on a road trip to Oregon (1300 miles, most of them beautiful, many of them challenging to drive), and I've posted a few pictures of the scenery in my gallery on the right.

I've written two children's books for my grandkids and outlined a third and fourth. I wish, wish wish marketing fiction wasn't the thoroughly tedious and disappointing experience that it is... but the reality of the business of writing is miserable. The little kids are tickled with the books, though.

Amazon sends me love letters for all the money I spend with them. Three books I'll recommend to anyone are "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver, "Under The Banner Of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer, and "Luncheon Of The Boating Party" by Susan Vreeland. I read, but wouldn't recommend "Atonement" by Ian McEwan, and if you're in the mood for a succinct and pithy assessment of Islam from a Catholic perspective, "Inside Islam: A Guide For Catholics" by Daniel Ali and Robert Spencer will wake you right up.

If you're poised on the uncomfortable horns of a life-style dilemma, Martha Beck's "Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming The Life You Were Meant To Live" is a goodie, as is her book on weight loss, "The Four Day Win: End Your Diet War And Achieve Thinner Peace." She has umpteen advanced degrees and a witty, engaging writing style (along with her penchant for long titles). If you're into New Age stuff, "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay is... interesting.

I didn't begin this blog with the idea of detailing my personal life (as oh so many and oh too many bloggers do), so I promise this will be one of very few "me me me" postings... there are just too many issues out there begging for commentary. It's nice to be back -- I hope you'll join me now and then.

Curmudgeons, Unite!

I'm organizing the National Society of Curmudgeons, Unite! (or, if you're dyslexic, Curmudgeons, Untie!) for those of us over the mid-century mark who need a forum where we can bitch and whine and not be called grumpy old goats. Even if we are.

You'll find the qualifying exam below, and if you pass with 90%, for $29.95 you too may become a licensed, professional curmudgeon. (Heck, even if you don't pass the test, you can send me the $29.95 - I take PayPal.)

Each of the following statements is worth 10 points. See how many statements you agree with. If you yell "hell, yes!" you can add an extra five points per yell. If you can add to this list in the "Comments" section, you can add an extra big, fat TEN points per item. Such a deal!

1. You despise all cartoons, jokes, photos, virus alerts ("this one is not a JOKE!"), chain letters and liberal/conservative hate mail in your email box and you refuse to forward or return any of them, no matter the promises of good fortune or the threat of bad.
2. You hate all of #1 so much that you delete the mail without reading and don't care if it offends the sender. Sometimes you delete the sender's email address.
3. While hard porn may still titillate, soft porn in advertising really turns you off instead of on... especially when it isn't remotely subtle. You still can't believe that erectile dysfunction, condoms and KY products are advertised.
4. You haven't heard a good pop song since before 1989.
5. You consider extremely LOUD rap music in the car next to you a valid reason for the death penalty, even if you don't believe in the death penalty.
6. You remember when sizes 2, 4 and 6 were found only in the children's department, and size 0 meant newborn, 0-3 months.
7. You eat right, take your vitamins, exercise, drink plenty of water, never eat junk food, bad fats or sugar, and you still can't shed the last 20 pounds you gained simply by turning 50. You're starting not to care since gravity has taken hold anyway.
8. You don't understand Yoga. You think the human body just wasn't meant to achieve those positions except maybe on your honeymoon.
9. You've mastered the controls for your DVD player, DVR, VCR, digital camera, digital video camera, MP3 player -- but you never turn on your cell phone because someone might call you and you can't remember how to answer the damn thing.
10. All of #9, plus you never call anyone on your cell phone because you can't remember how to retrieve the numbers you stored the first day you bought it, when you were buzzed on caffeine.
11. In fact, you remember when all you had to do with a phone was pick up the receiver to answer, and stick your fingers in those little holes to make a call. Without area codes.
12. You remember when it cost a nickel to mail a letter AND the postman delivered mail twice a day during the Christmas season. And you remember life before zip codes.
13. You also remember that the Christmas season was CALLED the Christmas season and people wished others "Merry Christmas," and a nativity scene was often displayed on City property -- without a pending lawsuit from the ACLU.
14. You really hate it when a clerk or cashier grunts at you instead of saying "thank you," or, worse yet, says "no problem" when YOU thank them. Sometimes you even muffle the phrase, "I'm the customer, for crissakes. My purchase just helped to pay your minimum-wage salary, you dolt, so say THANK YOU!"
15. You feel that going out to dinner is sometimes not worth the stress because a) few places take reservations and you have to wait at least 30 minutes with strangers who look like they're having much more fun than you are and who step on your feet in the 5 x 5 waiting area; b) the music is so loud you can't talk over it, even to order; c) you no longer understand why they let kids under 12 eat in restaurants; d) you can't believe you're going to pay $35 for a meal that would cost $5 to fix at home; e) the temperature inside the restaurant in the summer is 90 degrees cooler than outside, and of course you didn't bring a jacket because it's 90 degrees outside.
16. You want to reach through the TV and smack every wise-ass, snotty, smart-mouth kid in every sit-com, and you know this is where your grandkids' friends get their attitude from.
17. You stand in line at the supermarket and don't recognize ONE person on the covers of any of the magazines or tabloids, except Liz Taylor and the Clintons.
18. You remember when TV news meant coverage of national and world events without the 15-second wrap-up slyly telling you how you should feel about the event. Ditto for the "experts" who are on hand to explain the nuances of major speeches - expecially when they are half our age.
19. Nothing makes you madder than hotshot techie Gen-Xers and yuppies who think they invented computer technology, when, in fact, YOU are the one who was the pioneer -- before Windows, before Apple -- when a 5 mg drive seemed like infinite storage capacity and OS and programs ran from cassette tapes. Heck, you can even speak in binary.
20. You're really convinced all parents of celebrity brats are insane and wonder what caused them to abdicate all responsibility when their kid turned 12 and wanted to be a star, at the expense of their life. You're even beyond sympathy for them.
21. You wonder where "common sense" has gone. Has it disappeared for good from the gene pool? Did they lose it when they were mapping the human genome?
22. You sometimes buy it, but you still can't believe you pay $5 for a cup of coffee.
23. You know that everything at the supermarket costs precisely 2.5 times what it should. Yes, that tub of cottage cheese really cost $4.99 and that loaf of raisin bread was $4.39. It's why you can only say "holy crap" when the perky little checker asks you what your plans are for the day.
24. You pay $60 a month for cable or satellite service, but you only watch 5 channels out of the 247 available because, well, who would posslibly watch that crap?
25. You scream at automated phone voice recordings, especially when you're on hold for 10 minutes and you're forced to listen to their commercials for products you've already bought. You're not even embarrassed when you realize the recording has stopped and you have a live human on the other end who has heard your ranting. Screw 'em.
26. You get really, really tired of Caucasian Christians/Catholics being the only demographic left in the US that is okay (almost required) to mock, bash, slander, and otherwise defame. PC language also pisses you off.
27. You seriously wonder that out of the 300+ million people in the US, the likely candidates for President are going to be two of the three current front runners. You're considering writing in either FDR's or Reagan's name on the ballot in November. Even dead, they'd be a better choice.
28. You remember when the natural cycle of love was dating, engagement, wedding, living as a couple, parenthood -- and you wonder how those stages got so ass-backwards.
29. You really hate being so negative and grumpy about living in our current American culture, but you see so little of value in this culture, and you seriously despair for your grandkids' and great-grandkids' futures. You know it's a serious sign of old age, but our lifestyle just seems NUTS.
30. You throw away all junk mail except the ads from mortuaries offering pre-planning services. Somehow pushing daisies doesn't seem all that unappealing compared to the absurdity of life today.

....And We're Off!

Thanks to those who have inquired about my silence on this blog lately. I've taken a break from blogdom for a few weeks - not reading any, not writing any, hoping that the blog muse would sing to me again after an absence. Aries are not known for their constancy when the shiny newness wears off of an interest or passion. But, Lord, who can resist blogging on the day after Super Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras? Shirley, not I.


I'm just positive that in two hundred, five hundred, nine hundred years or so, after our artifacts have been unearthed by alien anthropologists, some pointy-eared, web-fingered, duck-footed, carbon dioxide-breathing professor type will conclude that the science and art of marketing/advertising was the single-most influential factor of American civilization.

Marketing has been around in some form or other since Eve traded half an apple for a designer fig leaf, but it really worked up steam in the last half of the last century, when our over-productive economy began selling everything to everybody. Here, Wikipedia tells me that in 2006, US spending on advertising reached 156 billion dollars, worldwide it was 385 billion, and the 2010 expenditures are expected to be half a trillion dollars.

Old print and TV advertisements, old actors in costumes, old familiar trademarks have become iconic and generate instant nostalgia when resurrected. I'll always have a warm spot in my heart for Wonder Bread, with its colorful polka dots on its fresh white wrapper -- the wrapper that, unfortunately, has more nutritional value than the white bread inside. Today, those Happy California Cows tempt me to push the envelope on lactose intolerance, even though I think most cheese is disgusting. And just look at the millions (yes, you too) who tuned in to the Super Bowl, not just for the game but for the entertainment of the gazillion-dollar commercials. For heaven's sake, when Dick Wilson (the Charmin toilet tissue spokesman) died, he rated mention on national news -- now that's product recognition and consumer loyalty.

Marketing isn't all bad, of course. Religious, charitable, educational and health-care institutions all reserve a large chunk of their operating budgets for "communication", i.e., marketing. Would we know smoking is a serious health risk without the health marketers who tell us so? On the other hand, would we even BE smoking without the marketing that brought us Lucky Strike Goes To War, Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man?

Now there's the question. Would we be doing or thinking anything at all without marketing? It's certainly one of our primary sources of information, and I don't mean just paid marketing. It's one of the most important ways our culture is modeled to us -- it's where many of our cultural myths come from, where we learn what to expect (inaccurately, all too often) from Life itself.

Hollywood has done its share of marketing the fantasy of the American Dream. Marital bliss, extra-marital bliss, the Happy Family, the princess wedding, teenage angst (did teenagers even exist before Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland?), women without cellulite and sagging breasts, strong, able MEN who run businesses, solve the world's problems and inhabit the White House. I don't even want to think what Disney has sold to generations of kids since the 1950's.

Wiki also talks about public interest advertising, cause marketing, social marketing and, God help us, political marketing. Which brings me to the point of this blog on this day.

By the time the professional marketers are finished with us in November, we won't have one clear idea who really stands for what, whose background facts are valid, who knows or means what he/she says. What we will know is exactly and only what the pros want us to know. (Remember Bill Clinton's "It's the economy, stupid!" Well, it worked, didn't it.)

Every speech, every article, every appearance, every sound bite will be geared to a precise audience that has been analyzed to death by its demographics. Each of us will have been sectioned and cross-sectioned in so many ways we'll look like we've been mashed through a potato ricer.

How many demographics describe you? Think: Age, race, marital status, income, education, employment, ethnicity, children, religious and political party affiliation, sexual orientation... all of which are only the tip of the melting iceberg. Practically every move we make, every health issue, every purchase, every vice and virtue, every interest, every problem and concern, every facet of our lives can be quantified by someone who never met a statistic they couldn't manipulate.

All of this -- ALL OF THIS -- will be fodder for the coming months' politicking. You can bet that if you're watching a candidate's speech or debate, your issues will be spoken to in the exact language they think you want to hear -- not in cold truth, not in objective facts, but in phrases tested for their palatability by focus groups representing your demographic.

Even though our "free press" is idealistically supposed to be free of influence, we all know it's not. (If you don't think that is an accurate statement, could it be because your views are the same as the media's?) Don't look to the major media outlets for any objectivity in the coming months. You may get two sides of the story presented in the same 90-second coverage, but bias will be present in the language, in the attitude, in the smug and arrogant presentation that, in the end, will showcase the media's choice to the best advantage.

In this blog post I wrote about the lack of objectivity I find in the media at all levels. I stand by that post, and I personally dread the months to come. Because we are so susceptible to marketing, and so bombarded by it in every arena, I know that the person who takes the oath of office next January will be the candidate with the slickest marketing campaign -- the one who will be sold best to the American public, exactly the same as the "real cheese from the happy California cows."

Four Score And Ten Are Plenty, Thanks

Those pseudo-, quasi- and not-very-scientific articles about extending human life way past the century mark give me chills. I'm sure someday it will be possible - maybe even the norm - for many of you (not me) to live to 115, 120 - 150 - 375?

The frontier of biologic possibilities has certainly been explored and successfully tamed in terms of the mechanics of conception, joint replacements, major organ transplants, and successful treatment for those previously thought terminal from cancer and other devastating illnesses, More sophisticated possibilities are wide-open should stem cell transplant research eventually prove fruitful and the ethics of the issue are somehow resolved.

In harsher terms, we're now able to save and maintain life for millions of people who just a few years ago would have died. We're also able to prolong life for millions who in the early 20th century would have died of "old age." (FYI, doctors always put that term in quotes when relating a patient's family history, even though it seems obvious to mere mortals.)

In my work I often see patients well into their 80's who are offered surgery, radiation treatment and chemotherapy for cancers of one sort or another -- and while a few opt out for quality of life reasons, many, many take advantage of these radical and highly toxic therapies. Very often the patient's initial inclination is to refuse treatment, but they are frequently swayed by loving family members who can't bear the thought of a relative's imminent death.

Years ago, before antibiotics and modern medical treatments, and when childbearing was a leading cause of death for women and infant mortality was tragically common, death was very much a part of everyone's experience. We didn't always call undertakers to perform the last courtesies for our loved ones -- we laid them out in our parlors, held wakes there, physically assisted in burials, and then "wore mourning" for a prescribed period of time -- a constant reminder of a passing, an immediate reminder of death.

We do some of those things now, of course, but in a much more sanitized, pasteurized way. And God knows, if the "mourning period" extends longer than our feel-good society mandates, we're urged to seek help from a therapist or the ubiquitous support group.

Ours has become a culture of life-at-any-cost (well, excepting the right of the fetus' life, of course). We seemed to have come to a point of refusing to acknowledge that death IS a part of life -- the single certain, inevitable part.

Maybe I'm more at peace with this reality than many since my life has been touched by death so much. I have far more dead relatives than living ones -- and, in fact, far more dead friends, too. My kids have (jokingly) threatened to warn men I date that I'm the Black Widow, with husbands and lovers keeling over right and left... I have sometimes wondered (not jokingly) if a psychic would run screaming after one look at my aura.

If it were possible for a whole lot of "ifs" to march into place, my next career would be as a bioethicist, studying this phenomenon and the other ethical issues involved with future medical research and treatments. We have come so far with research and procedures, but has our understanding of the implications of this "progress" kept pace? When are we smart enough, moral enough to say, "no, thanks"? There are always experts lined up ten deep on all sides of the fence -- and these issues are always, always politicized -- never a strong point for solemn and serious consideration of the ethical side of any issue.

From a personal viewpoint, I'm happy to vacate my carbon footprint before I'm 100. The world is looking pretty nuts to me about now, and, even though my body could be preserved through a pharmaceutical, mechanical or transplanted miracle, there's no way my mind could accept much more of the upheaval our culture undergoes every 20 years or so.

Parrots, redwood trees and bristlecone pine trees were given naturally long life spans, but they don't have to deal with pop culture and the media. Hip-hop music and one more article about Paris Hilton would be enough for me to pull the plug -- to say nothing of the shredding of our Constitution and the terror of power-mad leaders globally. I'm not sure how a person's mind could ever span 150 years of culture, including all the internal adjustments needed to assimilate the changes. I know for sure I won't find out.

Impeachment Interview - Moyers/Fein/Nichols

One of the blogs I list in my section of "Blogs Worth Your Time" is North Carolina Mountain Dreams, whose writer, Gary Boyd, recently started another blog, Coffee Muses, which has more opinion/commentary content and flavor than his original. The writer walks on the liberal side of the fence and provides articles and links in support of his political views.

The one posted today is the link to the transcript of Friday night's Bill Moyers Journal. As the introduction to the transcript says,

Bill Moyers talks with Bruce Fein and John Nichols

BILL MOYERS: One of the fellows you're about to meet wrote the first article of impeachment against President Clinton. Bruce Fein did so because perjury is a legal crime. And Fein believed no one is above the law. A constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein served in the Justice Department during the Reagan administration and as general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission. Bruce Fein has been affiliated with conservative think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation and now writes a weekly column for THE WASHINGTON TIMES and Politico.com.

He's joined by John Nichols, the Washington correspondent for THE NATION and an associate editor of the CAPITOL TIMES. Among his many books is this most recent one, THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT: THE FOUNDERS' CURE FOR ROYALISM.

I found the interview to be captivating, thoughtful and terrifying.


I'm not well enough informed on Constitutional law, the powers of the Presidency and Vice-Presidency, Congress and the morass of the war on terror to offer any intelligent comment, but I am certain you will find this interview gripping no matter what your political affiliation might be.

Start with Coffee Muses and follow his link to the interview,
Or just read the interview here.

Happy Birthday, U.S. of A.

Since we're expecting a sunny, 100-degree Fourth of July today, I'm going to be celebrating our nation's birthday in air-conditioned bliss, with a sugar-free, fat-free, flavor-free, low-calorie salad. In honor of the day I'll stick a candle in the middle, scrunch up my face like a three-year-old and make a few wishes for this 231st birthday. (Thank goodness I don't have to worry about how these wishes come true...the practicalities are up to the birthday fairy.)

• I wish Congress, holding true to the self-serving spirit in which it always operates, would declare a four-year holiday for each member and then just go home. We need a break from their (as mom would have said) shenanigans. They are legislators, and certainly we have reached the saturation point on the number of laws that can be levied, the number of investigations that are held and the self-aggrandizing bombast we can endure. Taking a liberty or two with Macbeath:

  Congress is but a walking shadow, a poor player
  That struts and frets its hour upon the stage
  And then is heard no more: it is a tale
  Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
  Signifying nothing.

• I wish the scientific community would, without coercion, exercise their considerable intellectual power and come up with definitive proof that global warming is indeed a fact, either a natural occurrence in Earth's cycle or one that's exacerbated by technopollution, or a combination of both. Despite being the darling of the media and the favorite catchphrase of every liberal on the planet, the jury is not in on this critical question. Heavyweights in the field stand opposed to the popular consensus, yet legitimate dissenters are rarely heard. "To pretend that this is settled is bizarre." says Richard S. Lindzen, Professor of Meteorology Massachusetts. Here is one example of the contrarian's viewpoint -- which you would never, ever see in the mainstream media.
  
• In communications from the Administration, I wish truth held a higher priority than spin. I find it insulting and demeaning that what we're told from every official source is carefully crafted with words they think we want to hear (through polls, focus groups, yada, yada, yada). We're adults, many of us can think and form opinions, and most of us pay taxes that fund the Washington circus -- please, we deserve the truth every time, all the time.
  
• Oh, before Congress takes it's four-year vacation, I wish it would pass serious reforms that would diminish or eliminate lobbyists' access and power, institute a line-item veto, require a balanced budget, enact serious gun control laws AND incorporate a greatly simplified tax code. (Hey, these are my wishes... I can type whatever I want.)
• I wish life in America were a little harder for many of us. It's a truism that only adversity forges character, that discipline and hardship make one strong. Yes, the country is stratified economically and we have seriously disadvantaged poor.... but you have to admit that many millions of Americans have things just too damn easy. While we may struggle in our personal lives, overall we've lost the grit and the strengthening that have built our nation's character in the past. It's said that to find where one's heart is, look at where one's money is spent. Maybe our priorities need tweaking... Here's just one example of prosperity run amok: ABC News reports: According to MarketResearch.com, sales of pet products other than food reached $8.5 billion last year. That's more than the $6.2 billion spent on babycare products. Bob Vetere, Amer. Pet Products Manufacturers Assoc.: "In fact, if you see a trend in a human product you can almost guarantee that there will be the similar trend for pet products." An old friend said once that America had become "fat, dumb and happy" and that it would result in our eventual downfall. I'm not sure she was wrong.
  
• I wish the military and military families who have given so much -- the ultimate in too many cases -- would understand that those of us who oppose the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq do not in any way denigrate their sacrifice or efforts. Bringing home every person alive, intact, is the best "support" that I can think of and the most positive way to honor our military.
  
• I wish that we could harness our American innovation and imagination and devise real solutions to the immigration and health care problems we face. Other countries seem to have both of these issues well under control -- maybe we could drop our arrogance just for a time and do some comparison shopping? The financial costs and the human costs of each issue are staggering. In my opinion, it's both defeatist and ridiculous to think we have to continue with the status quo.
  
• Finally, I wish the political differences between Democrat and Republican, which have become a chasm preventing, it seems, any solution to any problem, be dissolved in the realization (quoting The West Wing) that the things that unite us are greater than those that divide us. I wish and hope that we will nominate two candidates of great moral and intellectual stature, each with the experience, creativity, humility and humanity necessary to lead a unified nation to the greatness that its beginnings promised 231 years ago.
  
• Happy Birthday, United States Of America!
  

My Hyde Park Soapbox - Election Year Politics

I don't know if I was simply oblivious to the political scene until the last 20 years or so, but I simply do not remember there previously being the great chasm between left and right as exists (to our detriment) today. There were certainly fundamental ideological differences, but isn't this polarization between political parties a fairly recent phenomenon?

Where did this come from? Where did it begin? Was it the Vietnam war, Watergate, the "vast right wing conspiracy", the interminable and unfruitful Clinton investigations, the blue dress, talk radio, the Iraq war, the weight given to opinion polls, the omnipresent and biased media, or the American penchant for treating every familiar face as a celebrity and their every word as gospel?

The numbers of Democrats and Republicans are fairly evenly matched. On November 6, 2006, ABCnews.com reported: "The latest ABC News/Wash Post poll has Democrats leading Republicans 53 to 43 percent among registered voters." So, take an unscientific approach and say roughly half the country is Democrat and half Republican, and then look at the issues that unite and divide the two parties. Now try to find something - anything - in the mainstream media or in online opinion that will allow those two factions to agree. I dare you.

Whatever your position on any issue -- half of the country thinks you're completely nuts and certainly won't hesitate to say it. Disagreement and discord will rule the airwaves and all hope of consensus is gone.

Republicans speak only to fellow elephants, Democrats to their faithful donkey herds, and the independent is rarely, if ever, given an opportunity to find out what ANY candidate really thinks about an issue or a potential course of action.

Almost without exception, our candidates and "party leaders" say only what they are told their constituents want to hear -- what their focus groups and professional manipulators assure them will work well with a particular target audience. How often is that audience NOT comprised of the candidate's own party members?

Even in a forum designed to encourage forthright speech and debate we still hear only the tested formulas, the phrases that have been prepared and polished according to all the sleazy principles of Madison Avenue marketing success. Every word is carefully crafted to push the right buttons for that audience at that time. It's all so slick, so packaged, so meaningless.

Does a candidate EVER formulate his/her own thoughts and speak those thoughts, or are we hearing a 25-year-old Ivy League speech writer's version of what will play best on the six o'clock news?

I look at the field of candidates - all 150 of 'em - and shake my little blond head.

Our country doesn't need in the Oval Office an articulate, charismatic puppet whose strings are pulled by party chairs with bottomless financial resources that will essentially purchase the presidency. We don't need someone who only mouths approved propaganda generated by polling numbers and marketing techniques.

America needs a giant right now. We have critical issues on domestic and foreign fronts, and we need a candidate with a giant brain, a diplomat, a political pragmatist who can also claim integrity and honesty... someone with charisma enough to unite disparate factions. We need a person of character and conviction who can bring to the table enough imagination and creativity to pull this country up out of the quagmire of polarization and the cheap, small-minded, self-serving non-solutions we've been living with.

Again, I look at the field of candidates and shake my head.